Harman Patil (Editor)

Fight the Merger

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Fight the Merger is a movement, started by the law firm Bursor & Fisher, opposing the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA. The strategy of the movement is to recruit AT&T customers to file arbitration demands with the American Arbitration Association under the Clayton Antitrust Act against AT&T, pursuant to their arbitration clause. Martha Neil, writing for the ABA Journal, described the movement as a response to the Supreme Court's April 2011 ruling in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, in which the court upheld AT&T's arbitration clause that prohibited class actions. The goal of the movement is to win an injunction against the merger by any arbitrator.

AT&T has criticized the strategy, saying that their clause does not give arbitrators authority to block the merger. AT&T has also filed 8 lawsuits to prevent arbitration. However, the American Arbitration Association has agreed to conduct the arbitrations.

References

Fight the Merger Wikipedia